#251 Runway Reporter to be “largely disassembled” says ACP CEO

December 11, 2008

After refusing to comment and then denying rumours that NZ fashion website Runway Reporter is shutting down, ACP CEO Paul Dykzeul has told the NZ Herald that Runway Reporter will be “largely disassembled”. According to the NZ Herald article, ACP has “pulled back from its digital strategy”, and will shut down its metrolive.co.nz and yourhomeandgarden.co.nz websites from next month. No time frame has been given at this stage to Runway Reporter’s impending closure. It is believed that eight to ten staff have been made redundant in the proccess, a “transition,” according to ACP group publisher Debra Millar.

As for ACP’s other websites, cleo.co.nz and taste.co.nz will continue running, but both will be outsourced to ACP’s “joint venture online partner” msn.com. The Herald article did make it clear that all of ACP’s “Trader” websites (Auto Trader etc) will continue to run as per usual.

This report comes three days after an ACP insider told Isaac Likes that Runway Reporter would be closed down in the next few weeks and that ACP is planning to cut “all” their websites. It also comes two days after Dykzeul stated that these claims were “defamatory and incorrect”.